Friday, March 25, 2011

A probable cover

16 comments:

There's a fair chance this is going to end up being a trilogy -- not because it is one, organically, just because I'm so fucking slow any more. (Though, obviously, faster of late -- there was a decade I didn't write at all.)

Book One: The Big BoostBook Two: Live Fast and Never DieBook Three: The Lay of the Rose

Each of the 3 sections is about the same size -- together they run about a quarter million words. (Long enough a traditional publisher would want me to cut, if it were to be published as a single novel, because paper is expensive.)

I'm with Scott. (Although, I also recommend using ALL CAPS as little as possible.)

I like this cover art better...but it's just up to a meh now.

Dan, Can I ask why you aren't going with a traditional publisher? Also, have you considered someone like Subterranean Press?

Finally, this "just because I'm so fucking slow any more. (Though, obviously, faster of late -- there was a decade I didn't write at all.)" doesn't make me feel so bad - I'm the same way with game design - I haven't had a new game out in 20 yrs, and the iPhone game I'm doing I've working on it for about 3 years now, and it's a stage of only 1/3 programmed. I am so freakin slow!

There's no way I'd hand these books to a traditional publisher. 10% royalties so that they can be published with no advertising? This is what happened to my Bantam books (except I think the royalties were 8%.) I get about 97% of the revenue from an fsand sale, 70% through Amazon (and they will be available through Amazon, though not at first.)

Also, at this point, books simply don't go out of print. Which means once sold, they never, ever, ever revert.

I can't think how much I'd need from a publisher to put up with that -- but more than anyone's going to offer.

As to the cover art...I'm probably going with the brown paper bag for the fsand edition. I'll use the space cover for Amazon.

I'm with you there. The all caps was meant to indicate BIG TYPE or headline size, while the normal caps is *tiny type* or subhead size.

As another note on design:

Because you're used to big publishing's book covers, the addition of blocks of really tiny type (e.g., for quotes) and many sizes of type make the book look professionally designed, if that's your goal.

The actual look is, of course, up to Dan. Just offering my advice as a marketing consultant (tech, not publishing.)

I'm really looking forward to this, but I agree with the "don't angle the text" crowd. Even if there is an awesome reason for it in the book, people hardly ever read the novel before looking at the cover. Eh, I'm just happy to get to read it. And I find the title one of sweet sweet irony, seeing as the first book of yours I ever read was one I stole. Well, borrowed. I always intended taking that copy of Emerald Eyes back. And I'll point out that all the others since I've bought with my hard earned money.

Now I have to figure out how to join up with fs&. I'm a long time visitor to this blog, but it took the impending release of AI War to get me to finally make the effort. Congratulations, and all the best, Mr Moran.

FWIW, while I applaud the self-publishing (particularly if it does a better job of putting food on your table and making sure you keep writing), I'd urge you to hire other people to replace the useful functions that a publisher does if you can (eg, copy/style editing, graphic design, art). Keep the control and profits, but don't settle on quality--The copy editing with Terminal Freedom was an issue with an otherwise excellent work.